11/18/2011

Thier use stems from a paper drafted within the Air Force's Air University entitled Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025. It outlines a strategic weather modification system for the purpose of maintaining military dominance.

H.R.2977tried to ban their use (see section 7B) . The bill's status shows an "Unfavorable Executive Comment Received from DOD".

11/16/2011

A regulator says he withdrew from an investigation of Jon Corzine's collapsed securities firm to avoid being a "distraction."

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Monday that the CFTC has "excellent career staff" to handle such cases.

Gensler and Corzine were colleagues for 18 years at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. They worked together on the trading floor after joining the firm in the 1970s. Gensler rose to become Goldman's co-head of finance before leaving in 1997. Corzine left Goldman in 1999, after serving as chairman and CEO.

11/15/2011

1. Academic excellence by homeschoolers is greater than you might think. Academically, homeschoolers far surpass publicly educated students. In one recent study, standardized test scores of homeschooled students were 37 percentile points above their public school counterparts. Previous studies showed similar results.

2. Social skill excellence by homeschoolers is greater than you might think. Most homeschooled children learn superior social skills (such as sharing, being kind, helping others, working together) at home with a parent supervising better than they would in a school setting where individual supervision is minimal. Interactions with extended family and neighborhood children, as well as extracurricular activities (like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts), provide additional opportunities for healthy social encounters.

3. There are more resources to help than you might think. Many states and regions have an annual conference with speakers, networking and curriculum vendors to help homeschooling families. Plentiful online and local support groups and co-ops are also helpful.

4. The legal hurdles are lower than you might think. Laws vary by state, but many require little or no notification, reporting or paperwork. Even in the most highly regulated states compliance with the law is not difficult. National non-profit organizations, like the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, help members understand their rights and responsibilities as homeschooling parents.

5. The benefits to your children are greater than you might think. Your children receive your worldview, beliefs, and values, and they eat your food rather than food from a school cafeteria. You can tailor your school day to your child, whether s/he is a slow learner or gifted academically. You can provide ample individual attention.

6. It is more important than you might think. Most Natural News readers are independent thinkers and healthy skeptics, qualities which are generally discouraged by the public school system. By homeschooling your children you can teach your children to think critically, rather than teaching to the test like they do in public school. This will better equip them to navigate the social, financial, food, and energy crises, which loom in our future.

Icelandic MP and former WikiLeaks volunteer Birgitta Jonsdottir has slammed the decision by US courts to open her Twitter account to the US authorities and is taking her case to the Council of Europe.

On Thursday a US judge ruled Twitter must release the details of her account and those of two other Twitter users linked to WikiLeaks. Jonsdottir learned in January that her Twitter account was under scrutiny from the Justice Department because of her involvement last year with WikiLeaks' release of a video showing a US military helicopter shooting two Reuters reporters in Iraq. She believes the US authorities want to use her information to try and build a case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"This is a huge blow for everybody that uses social media," said Jonsdottir. "We have to have the same civil rights online as we have offline. Imagine if the US authorities wanted to do a house search at my home, go through my private papers. There would be a hell of a fight. It's absolutely unacceptable."

#3 This happened during a time when the net worth of most American households was declining rapidly. According to the Federal Reserve, the collective net worth of all American households decreased by 23 percentbetween 2007 and 2009.

#5 The net worth of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi increased by 62 percent from 2009 to 2010. In 2009 it was reported that she had a net worth of 21.7 million dollars, and in 2010 it was reported that she had a net worth of 35.2 million dollars.

#8 In 2008, the average cost of winning a seat in the House of Representatives was $1.1 million and the average cost of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate was$6.5 million. Spending on political campaigns has gotten way out of control.

#9 Insider trading is perfectly legal for members of the U.S. Congress – and they refuse to pass a law that would change that.